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Radical Picturesque and Owen Luder's Town Centre of 1960'S England

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Radical Picturesque and Owen Luder's Town Centre of 1960'S England Research Collection Doctoral Thesis Radical Picturesque and Owen Luder's Town Centre of 1960's England Author(s): Macken, Jared Publication Date: 2018-11 Permanent Link: https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000306667 Rights / License: In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted This page was generated automatically upon download from the ETH Zurich Research Collection. For more information please consult the Terms of use. ETH Library Radical Picturesque and Owen Luder’s Town Centre Projects of the 1960’s | Jared Macken DISS. ETH NO. 25208 RADICAL PICTURESQUE AND OWEN LUDER’S TOWN CENTRE OF 1960’s ENGLAND A thesis submitted to attain the degree of DOCTOR OF SCIENCES of ETH ZURICH (Dr. sc. ETH Zurich) presented by JARED MACKEN MArch, University of Illinois Chicago BFA, Graphic Design, Wichita State University born on 08/10/1979 citizen of US accepted on the recommendation of Dr. Prof. Alex Lehnerer Dr. Prof. Robert Somol 2018 !1 Radical Picturesque and Owen Luder’s Town Centre Projects of the 1960’s | Jared Macken !2 Radical Picturesque and Owen Luder’s Town Centre Projects of the 1960’s | Jared Macken Deutsche Zusammenfassung: Wie vielerorts bestimmte auch im Nachkriegs-England der Wiederaufbau der durch den Krieg zerstörten Städte den Architekturdiskurs der Zeit. Der Fokus der Architekten und ihrer Projekte lag auf der Stadt und ihrem Zentrum. Unter dem Titel „Townscape“ entwarf Hubert de Cronin Hasting 1949 in der Architectural Review eine neuartige Theorie der Stadt. Dieser Text war Ursprung vieler sog. Townscape- Projekte, allerdings argumentierte der Architekt und Theoretiker Colin Rowe, dass dieser Aufsatz auch eine alternative Idee der Stadt als Projekt formulierte, welche malerische Formen der Komposition als urbanistisches Modell propagierte, in einer Zeit, in der die Architektur hauptsächlich entweder mit dem Blick auf die Vergangenheit (historisches Stadtbild) oder die Zukunft („Megastruktur“) beschäftigt war. Hastings Theorie bot eine Alternative, ein architektonisches Projekt in den Kontext der Stadt einzubetten, indem sie politische Rhetorik („Radical“) mit englischer visueller Philosophie aus dem späten 18. Jahrhundert („Painting“) verband, um für den Entwurf einer neuen Typologie zu werben: ein Zusammenspiel verschiedener städtischer Teile, welches Hastings als „Ensemble“ bezeichnete. Als Ergebnis entstand der Typus des „Town-Centre“, welches unter dem gleichnamigen Text des Architekten und Planers W. Konrad Smigielski ausformuliert dafür eintrat, die historische Stadt zu „simulieren“ anstatt nur zu kopieren, um sowohl zerstörte Stadtzentren wiederaufzubauen, als auch dem negativen Einfluss allzu schneller Modernisierung entgegen zu wirken. Smigielskis Essay aus dem Jahr 1955 folgten einer Vielzahl von Projekten im Stadtzentrum, insbesondere jene des Architekten Owen Luder, der nicht nur die Ideale des Radikal Malerischen verkörperte, sondern alle Aspekte des politischen Klimas der Stadt verhandelte, um seine Visionen zu verwirklichen. Obwohl seine Projekte über die Jahre fälschlicherweise zu den „Megastrukturen“ oder dem „Brutalismus“ gezählt wurden, stellt Luder fest, dass es bei seinem Projekt eher darum ging, historische Stadtzentren zu simulieren, um das verlorene "Treiben" des Marktes nachzubilden und seine neu eingefügten Zentren nicht nur den Städten selbst dienten, sondern auch für das Hinterland von wichtiger Bedeutung waren. Die vorliegende Arbeit argumentiert, dass Luders Projekt ein alternatives Projekt zu Hastings Artikel aus dem Jahr 1949 darstellt, bei dem es sich weder um ein typisches Townscape-Projekt handelt noch um eine klassische Megastruktur. !3 Radical Picturesque and Owen Luder’s Town Centre Projects of the 1960’s | Jared Macken !4 Radical Picturesque and Owen Luder’s Town Centre Projects of the 1960’s | Jared Macken English Abstract: In England, immediately after the second world war, architectural discourse took on the problem of how to rebuild the bombed-out cities of post-war England. Architects through their projects specifically focused on the city, and in 1949 a new theory was written by Hubert de Cronin Hastings in Architectural Review called “Townscape” which was an argument for what he called a Radical Picturesque way of implementing new architectural projects. On the one hand this essay is known for influencing Townscape projects, but, as argued by the architect and theorist Colin Rowe, this essay also created an alternative idea for the city that embodied Picturesque modes of composition and simulation at a time when architecture was either looking to the past (Townscape outcomes) or the future (“sci-fi” or Megastructural projects) for urban models. Hastings’ theory provided an alternative of placing an architectural project in the city by combining political rhetoric (Radical) with English visual philosophy from the late 18th century (Picturesque) in order to advocate for the design of a new typology, what Hastings called the “ensemble,” a composite of different architectural parts from the city. As a result a new typology emerged within architecture, that of the town centre, with the seminal essay penned by the architect and planner W. Konrad Smigielski called “The Town Centre” where he argued for simulating, not copying, the historical city center into existing cities in order to both rebuild bombed cities but also counteract what was perceived as negative influences of rapid modernization. Following Smigielski’s 1955 essay was a proliferation of town centre projects, specifically that of Owen Luder, who embodied the ideals of the Radical Picturesque, including Picturesque tenets, and negotiated all aspects of the political climate of the city to realize his visions. Despite being (mis)categorized over the years, specifically as either Megastructures and/or Brutalist buildings, Luder argues that his project was about simulating historical town centres in order to recreate the lost “hustle and bustle” of the market place and to insert new centres not only for the cities he worked within but for regions the centres served. As a result, Luder’s project creates an alternative outcome to Hastings’s 1949 article that is not Townscape, not Megastructure, but instead is a third typology. !5 Radical Picturesque and Owen Luder’s Town Centre Projects of the 1960’s | Jared Macken !6 Radical Picturesque and Owen Luder’s Town Centre Projects of the 1960’s | Jared Macken CONTENTS Chapter 1 - Emergence of a Radical Picturesque as Architectural Project and a Feud Chapter 2 - The Picturesque Simulation of the Center in the Typology of the Centre Chapter 3 - Embodiment of the Radical Picturesque in Owen Luder’s Project Case Studies - or, Four Ways to Insert a Town Centre Into an Existing City: The Owen Luder Partnership Town Centre Narratives Chapter 4 - Inserting A Town Centre into the City Green, or an Existing Open Space in the City Centre Chapter 5 - Bomb Out an Old Centre: The Destruction of Portsmouth’s Urban Centres Chapter 6 - The Obsolescence of the Original Town Centre: or Gateshead’s Post-Rationalization of Tabula Rasa Planning Tactics Chapter 7 - The Radical Picturesque and Owen Luder’s Town Centre as a Third Typology Diagram - Expanded Field of Radical Picturesque Diagram - Emergence of Radical Picturesque and Town Centres in Discourse APPENDIX: Interview with Owen Luder Curriculum Vitae - Jared Macken !7 Radical Picturesque and Owen Luder’s Town Centre Projects of the 1960’s | Jared Macken Chapter 0 Introduction In England, immediately after the second world war, architectural discourse took on the problem for how to rebuild the bombed out cities of post-war England. Architects and their projects specifically focused on the city, and in 1949 a new theory was written by Hubert de Cronin Hastings in Architectural Review called “Townscape” which was an argument for what it called a Radical Picturesque way of implementing new architectural projects. On the one hand this essay is known for influencing Townscape projects, but, as argued by the architect and theorist Colin Rowe, this essay also created an alternative idea for the city that embodied Picturesque modes of composition and simulation at a time when architecture was either looking to the past (Townscape outcomes) or the future (“sci-fi” or Megastructural projects) for urban models. This theory by Hastings provided an alternative by locating an architectural project in the city by combining political rhetoric (Radical) with English visual philosophy from the late 18th century (Picturesque) in order to advocate for the design of a new typology, what Hastings called the “ensemble,” a composite of different architectural parts from the city. As a result a new typology emerged within architecture, that of the town centre, with the essay penned by the architect and planner W. Konrad Smigielski called “The Town Centre” where he argued for simulating, not copying, the historical city center into existing cities in order to both rebuild bombed cities but also counteract what was perceived as negative influences of rapid modernization. Following Smigielski’s 1955 essay was a proliferation of town centre projects, specifically that of Owen Luder, who not only embodied the ideals of the Radical Picturesque, including Picturesque tenets, he also deftly negotiated all aspects of the political climate of the city to realize his visions. Despite being (mis)categorized over the years, specifically as either Megastructures and/or Brutalist buildings, Luder argues that his project was about simulating historical town centres in order to recreate the lost
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